Playing the Long Game with Trusted Mentors

In this episode of East Coast Elite, we unpack the remarkable career journey of David Goodmark, VP of Sales at Wiz, a story that serves as a masterclass in strategic career building.

Dave shares how he consistently prioritized mentorship and skill acquisition over title or compensation, knowingly taking roles as an Individual Contributor (IC) after being a leader just to learn from the best in the industry. He discusses the power of the Playbook culture, the concept of reciprocal accountability that fosters deep team trust, and the importance of "earning your way in" to elite networks. This is a must-listen for anyone looking to scale their career by following great leaders and building an unshakeable skill set.

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🏹 Key Topics Covered

00:00 - Intro

02:09 - Sales Career Launched by Mentorship

04:44 - The Shift to Software Sales

10:48 - Earning Your Way In: The Playbook

17:19 - Stepping Back: Leader to IC at AppD

23:20 - The Long Game: Mike's Mentorship

33:10 - Inspection vs. Inspiration

35:06 - The Two-Sided Champion Equation

40:48 - The Wiz Turnaround Story

51:00 - Advice for Aspiring Sales Leaders

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

Follow the Leader, Not the Title: The most critical career decisions involve prioritizing who you work for a great leader and mentor, over a higher title, more money, or better short-term comfort. Dave consistently took an IC role after being a leader just to acquire a stronger, more teachable skill set from elite organizations.

Master the Two-Sided Account: Career success and gaining champions is a two-sided equation. You must continuously add value (make deposits) to the professional relationships you rely on, and not merely withdraw favors. You can't draw from an account that has no deposits.

Culture Needs Candor and Accountability: A highly effective sales culture operates with reciprocal accountability. The relationship must be honest and direct enough to allow for candid feedback (like being treated as siblings), which ultimately drives the mission faster.

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🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel!

💬 Notable Quotes "You could be a not great leader and have amazing people and do okay. And you could be the best leader on the planet Earth and have really bad people and you're going to be in trouble." "It doesn't matter how little you think someone might know about what they're trying to teach you... If you could try to take one thing away from these interactions..." "When you do treat each other, almost like you are siblings... It actually kind of creates a welcoming environment and atmosphere which only helps us get towards the mission faster when we're working and when we're building." "What your title is doesn't matter... build a skill set that teaches you how to do something to the point where you are consciously understanding of it." "You can't withdraw from an account that has no deposits in it."

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